


The Dust in Our Shadows

by Shunters



Series: Gold Dust [1]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Childhood, Daemon Separation, Daemons, Gen, Growing Up, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Prostitution, Not Really Character Death, Panic Attacks, Pre-Canon, Pre-Season/Series 01, but its ben so..., no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-27
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-11-06 12:58:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17940137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shunters/pseuds/Shunters
Summary: Daemon - noun - the physical manifestation of a human's soul, taking on an animal form or shape.Everyone has a daemon, and everyone's daemon Settles. Klaus' own Nephthys Settles surrounded by the one constant in their life; the dead. She Settles first out of all the Hargreeves children, trapped inside a tomb with only ghosts for company. It's a lot more traumatic than most daemons Settle.-------Aka, a series of short scenes in a Daemon AU which nobody asked for, but which wouldn't leave me alone.





	The Dust in Our Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> Fair warning, this is the first fic I've completed in a year or two, so it might suck, but whatever. I also decided to try something new & write in the present tense for this, so there's no telling how good this is. I wasn't really going to write or post anything for a while, but then I watched TUA & I fell in love with our messed up kiddos, so here, have this trash which was just supposed to be a short fic about their daemon forms, before I angsted.
> 
> (Update, 3rd August: a few spelling mistakes. Plus, the first couple sequels are now up!)

Klaus' Daemon Settles surrounded by the one constant in his life; the dead.

 

They're twelve-years-old, and their father has locked Klaus and Nephthys in a mausoleum. They're to stay there the whole night, Dad says.

 

It's a special kind of torture, sealed away there in the dark, with the dead clawing at him and groaning for his help, their hands a chilling shiver against his skin, voices sandpaper rough on his eardrums. The ghosts get louder and louder and louder, until Klaus has his fingers buried in his hair, hands covering his abused ears, and he can't even hear Nephthys' thoughts rolling through his brain. What feels like days after they were first trapped inside, Klaus' sanity is pushed over the edge by the constant wailing.

 

And so he screams.

 

He screams and he screams and he screams, joining the howls of the dead and the snarls of his Daemon.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Dad opens the doors.

 

 _Three more hours_ , he says when he sees Klaus begging to be let out, tears staining his desperate face.

 

It might as well be three more days.

 

Nephthys has long since fallen silent, shifting into some new form which Klaus can't make out through the stifling darkness. He thinks that he can feel feathers where he's clutching her close to his chest, but his fingers went numb hours ago, and _he can't take this anymore_.

 

Klaus yells again, crying for help that he knows won't come.

 

The tomb quivers around him, rasping out its own panicked moans.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When he gets back to the mansion, Nephthys a silent shadow on his shoulder, he finds that none of his siblings even knew that he was gone.

 

He showers and changes, following Dad's orders numbly, and then hurries to the dinning room for lunch. He's missed breakfast, and he thinks that, surely _his siblings would question his absence._

But no one does, not even in hushed voices whispered in the hallways when Dad isn't looking.

 

They don't even notice that Nephthys has Settled.

 

It hurts.

 

He was gone for fifteen hours. And none of his siblings noticed.

 

It makes something cold and hard settle into his chest, a lump obstructing his breathing, a vice gripping his heart.

 

He is alone, save for his Daemon and the ever-present dead.

 

He feels like he's still trapped inside the mausoleum, isolated and cut off from the world of the living.

 

He craves oblivion.

 

He pulls out the blunt he had hidden in his sock drawer, chasing the closet thing he can find to a relief from the gnawing hurt that's made itself at home in his gut.

 

 

* * *

 

 

When Five and his Daemon disappear, Echo is still Unsettled, and Klaus doesn't think he'll ever find out what she would have Settled as, because Five must surely be dead by now.

 

(Even if he never comes when Klaus tries to conjure him. Five was always so stubborn in life, he would be just as stubborn in death.)

 

 

* * *

 

 

When they're fourteen, Diego's Daemon Settles in battle. Adriana shifts instinctually to fight the dog Daemon that has ambushed her, and its not until after the battle is won that Klaus sees her again.

 

She's a beautiful creature.

 

A rust coloured fox, fully grown, with deep amber- almost red- eyes, golden blood dripping through her fur, Enemy Daemon blood worn like a medal against her chest.

 

She complements Diego perfectly, as she should; a warrior's Daemon, but a playful trickster at heart.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Vanya is the next to Settle.

 

They're still fourteen, and the team has just arrived home from another mission.

 

Klaus is on his way to get high in his room, but he stops short in the hall, Nephthys' claws tight on his shoulder as the sound of unfamiliar bird song melds smoothly with a violin, filling their ears with something other than the yawning dead.

 

Klaus' feet move of their own accord, taking him to the source of the song, the noise resonating deeply within him.

 

He stops outside Vanya's room, peeking through the gap in the doorway.

 

His sister stands in the middle of the tiny room, eyes closed as she pours her heart into her music. There is a grey bird perched on the end of her bed, its eyes closed in mimicry of his human, as he echoes the notes of the violin, weaving pure emotion into the air around them. There is no doubt in Klaus' mind that this is Demyan.

 

Klaus stand there, transfixed. He watches his sister as he's never seen her before- in a state of true peace.

 

As the song comes to a close, Klaus finds himself clapping his hands. Vanya and the bird startle, their eyes snapping open- hers a light brown, his a bright gold- as they stare at him in surprise.

 

"That was beautiful," Klaus says, and he finds that he means it- unlike so many other things he's said lately.

 

Vanya gasps quietly, mouth opening and closing as she flounders for a moment, before she manages to pull herself together.

 

"Thank you," she tells him, eyes suspiciously shiny, and Klaus suddenly finds it hard to breath, because _god, she sounds like this is the first compliment she's ever been given._

"Do you mind if we listen to you again, sometime?" Nephthys asks the question before either of them can think better of it, because, somehow, the music has kept the ghosts at bay.

 

Vanya looks so damn surprised. "Oh, um, yeah, if you want to." 

 

Klaus grins gently but happily. "Thanks," he says, before turning to leave. He pauses in the hall and looks back. "Oh, and, congrats on Settling. 'Myan, you look beautiful."

 

His sister smiles shyly, blushing as Demyan preens slightly and puffs out his chest in pride. "Thanks. Do you know what he is, by any chance?" she replies, before hurrying to explain, "it's just that I haven't had the chance to look up any birds yet, and I know that Dad made you practically memorise the whole book on Daemon birds when Nephthys Settled."

 

Right, Dad had made him study the whole damn book, page-by-page, until he found his Daemon form, because _knowledge is power, Number Four_ and _thinking your Daemon is a raven will do you no good if she is, in fact, a crow._ He still loathes the fact that Dad had been right about that.

 

"As it happens," Klaus says, pulling himself out of his memorises, "I think I do know what he is. If I'm right, which, of course, I always am, then 'Myan is a mockingbird."

 

His sister smiles gently, oh so gently, as she replies, "thank you." And it is sincere, as everything else has been in this conversation.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Ben's Daemon Settles in one of the few quiet- and, dare he say it, _happy_ \- moments of their childhood.

 

Klaus and Ben are in the library, the one in the mansion they call _home_ , their Daemons chasing each other around and around and around the table.

 

Ben has decided that Seiko needs to Settle, that they need to please Dad by becoming _proper adults_ , and Klaus has decided that he wants to be a good brother for once, so he's made it his personal mission to help Ben with his quest.

 

Klaus is thumbing through a book about reptilia Daemons, showing anything of interest to Ben, whilst his brother is determinedly reading a book on feliformia Daemons. They've already ruled out caniformia and invertebrates Daemons, and have decided to leave birds until last.

 

It's when Ben reaches the domestic cat description that he perks up slightly. _Socially selective, independent, resourceful, perceptive, non-confrontational._ He thinks it's a good fit.

 

By that time, their Daemons have stopped chasing each other, and now watch as their humans turn the pages of their respective books. Koko begins to shift into forms which she likes, going through countless snakes and cats, until, finally-

 

"I think this is it," she says in triumph, and it has to be, because she's fully grown now.

 

She's a lovely off-grey cat, fur tinting slightly blue in the light, her eyes shining blue-green-turquoise as she stares up at Ben.

 

Klaus grins brightly. "Congrats, you're an adult now," he says and claps his hands in his signature way, "yay!"

 

Ben grins back, chuckling slightly. "Thanks, bro."

 

Klaus glances at the page which Ben's book is still open on.

 

A Russian blue cat. _Loyal, affectionate, shy, independent, resourceful, empathetic, playful, organised, conflict-averse_. Ben is definitely all those things.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Allison's Daemon Settles much like Adriana did- in the midst of battle.

 

They're fifteen, and Melos is the penultimate Daemon to Settle.

 

The battle is bloodier than usual, and Klaus is supremely happy that he isn't high at the moment, because _shit, a mistake right now could cost one of them their lives_. He's busy fighting a guy wielding a knife- without the benefit of helpful powers, thank you very much- when he sees the boss' Daemon go after Melos.

 

Klaus, heart in his throat, reacts instinctively. He twists Knifeman's wrist, disarming him efficiently, before kicking the man in the balls. Knifeman drops, and Klaus lunges forward.

 

"Mel', behind you!" he shouts in warning, and the Daemon turns, shifting mid-leap to attack the mutt that was creeping up on him.

 

All Klaus gets to see is rosette-patterned fur, and flashing claws, before he feels a sudden sharp _pain_ in his back, and he gasps, lashing out behind him.

 

He doesn't know how it happens- maybe it was Luther, or maybe it was Ben- but Knifeman is suddenly thrown into the wall, a smear of crimson left in his wake, and Klaus grabs the place between his rib and his spine.

 

Only to find something imbedded in it.

 

He hisses at the pain caused by touching the spot, and tries to twist himself to see his own back. There's a knife handle stuck to his torso. Which means that the blade has to be the thing which he can feel _moving inside of his chest_.

 

Klaus whimpers at the thought and sensation, dropping to his knees.

 

There's blood on his hands, and blood rolling gently down his back, and blood coating the room like another layer of paint, and he's suddenly dizzy, blood-covered room spinning and dancing around him as his heart pounds in his ears. He closes his eyes to steady his breathing, and decides that _maybe he should lie down_.

 

But then the sounds of the battle stop, and _who knew it could be this quiet_. But the silence is quickly beaten away by shouting.

 

"Klaus!" It sounds like Luther. "Klaus, get up, we need to go!"

 

That doesn't sound like a good idea, and this floor is really quite comfy, and Klaus would very much like to _stay put, thanks_.

 

"Klaus?" That was Ben, speaking in his quiet, I-don't-want-to-be-here voice.

 

Klaus doesn't reply, and doesn't move, until he feels familiar talons digging into his knee.

 

It's Nephthys, he knows.

 

"Klaus, you need to get up," she whispers, pain clear in her voice, the words meant only for him, and _damn it, this is gonna hurt_ , but his Daemon needs him to move, so _fuck it, he's gonna move_.

 

He opens his eyes to see Diego collecting his last knife and watching him with questioning eyes, while Ben frowns in concern, and Luther frowns in annoyance, and Allison admires Melos' new form. He can't even find it in himself to care that she seems more worried about her companion's new look than him, because _that is one elegant Daemon_.

 

It's a margay, he knows, mind recalling all the information from the feliformia book, even as he gathers the strength to stand, one arm wrapped around his ribs.

 

Distantly, he recognises what he thinks might be shock settle over him, a cotton-soft blanket coating him and muting the world.

 

He walks slowly, breathing laboured as the blade scraps against his rib with every move. Nephthys is perched carefully on his right shoulder, talons piercing his blazer as she focuses on not falling. Klaus watches the ground closely, afraid that it might be pulled out from under him like a rug. He's so intent on his task, that he almost walks straight into the large cat which suddenly appears in front of him.

 

"You're bleeding," the margay- Melos- says, frowning in as much worry as his feline features can show.

 

"How observant of you," Klaus mutters back, moving around his sister's Daemon, aiming to leave the bank as quickly as possible.

 

As he passes his siblings, he hears them gasp, hears Diego curse under his breath in a stutter, and Koko meow in worry. He pays them no mind, however, as he leaves the crime scene.

 

The journey home is a blur of distant pain, and hazy shouting from his father, and the dim feeling of Ben holding his hand, and whispers of _don't pull the knife out_.

 

Later, after he wakes from surgery, head fuzzy and throat rough, he finds that no one is waiting for him, except Nephthys.

 

It's not surprising.

 

Even if his siblings _did_ want to sit by his bedside, Dad would never have allowed it.

 

He drifts off in a haze of pain killers, Nephthys burrowed into his chest.

 

When he next wakes, it's to see Mom tiding the infirmary around him. When she notices that he's awake, she smiles her too-perfect smile at him, the absence of a Daemon an ever-present wiggle in the back of his mind as he looks at her.

 

It's two days before he's allowed out of the infirmary. The knife managed to nick the top of his left kidney, but missed everything else of importance, and he's glad that they were able to save the organ, because he's pretty sure he's gonna need both kidneys in the future.

 

The first time he sees Allison after the battle is at breakfast on the day of his release. He makes sure to apologise to her for causing so much drama on the day of Melos Settling, but his sister brushes it off, saying she's just glad he's okay.

 

It's honestly the kindest thing she's said to him in a while, considering how wrapped up in Luther she normally is.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Luther's Daemon is the last to Settle, which makes _so much sense_ , because he never quite knew who he was, and still doesn't seem to, if Klaus is being honest.

 

Ayla Settles when they're fifteen, a month after the Knife Incident. Dad has decided that their Daemons are too much of a liability in battle- after all, if they don't have visible Daemons, then the Enemy will be at a disadvantage- and so he makes them all Separate themselves from their Daemons.

 

Reginald takes them all down to the basement, save Vanya, and makes them wait outside a steel door which they never knew about before. He calls them in, one sibling at a time.

 

Klaus watches as the first of them is called- it's Luther, like always- and Klaus watches as Number One walks into the lab, all confidence and pride in being _Daddy's Favourite_. He watches as Ayla follows her human, a young German shepherd dogging at his heels.

 

When Luther returns, pale and shaky and covered in sweat, he's clutching something close to his chest, and it's with a jolt that Klaus realises what it is- 

 

"Is that...?" he trails off as he mutters the question to Nephthys. She nods her head, inky feathers tinted purple as they catch the light, and _oh, it is! It's Ayla!_

Klaus smothers a laugh behind his hand, because Luther's Daemon has Settled into such an... _unexpected_ form. Ayla isn't something big and powerful, like the shapes she always wore to battle, nor is she a loyal dog rushing to obey her master's- _Dad's_ \- commands.

 

Later, after they're all Separated, and Klaus is trying to shake off the crushing sense of _loneliness_ he feels by curling up with Nephthys in the library, he looks up Ayla's Settled form.

 

She's a Hercules beetle, variant in the fact she has horns, when only the males are supposed to. Hercules beetles are the largest insects in the world, and- pound for pound- are one of the strongest animals, able to lift _eight-hundred and fifty times their own weight_.

 

It's surprisingly fitting for Luther. But, then again, Daemons always fit their humans perfectly; that's the whole point, what with your Daemon being the physical manifestation of your soul and everything.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The day that Ben and Seiko day, Klaus almost brings the house down with his screams.

 

Because Ben and Seiko are standing in front of him, eyes sad and apologetic, covered in blood, and Klaus _knows_. He _knows_ that his brother isn't coming back from the latest mission, that he will never again cuddle with his brother on the bad days, that he will never be able to do so much as sit and read with them in the library. Because Ben and Seiko are _dead_.

 

He feels himself stumble forward, reaching out for his brother, hoping beyond hope that he's mistaken, that this isn't happening, that- 

 

His hand goes _through_ Ben's shoulder, and Klaus _screams_.

 

He drops to his knees with a thud, crying and screeching and pleading- _God, no, please, not this, not Ben, not Seiko, no, nononono_. He can't breathe. His lungs are seizing, clenching around the vacuum of his chest cavity, his heart beating a frantic rhythm against his ribs. The world around him is shaking, the house groaning in lament, the windows rattling in sorrow, but he can't hear anything outside the ringing of his ears and his own pitiful gasps.

 

Things are shattering around him- his entire _reality_ is collapsing around him. The world is _ending_ , and Ben is _dead_ , and Klaus _can't breathe_ , but he's not sure he wants to breathe in a _world without Ben and Koko_.

 

He feels something warm drip into his mouth, the distinct taste of copper joining the salt of his tears, choking him on his next desperate inhale. He shuts his eyes against the stars dancing in them, hands shaking as they clutch his head and his thought swirl around the room.

 

He can feel Nephthys' panic echo his own, can feel her claws tear through the rug beside him as she, too, screeches in agony.

 

 _No, no, no, this can't be happening, this can't be real_ , they think together, _they can't be dead_.

 

But the stars burst inside his eyes, whiteness taking over his vision as the world is brought to a sudden halt.

 

He slips into oblivion, darkness chasing away the supernova of stars.

 

 

* * *

 

 

A week after Ben and Seiko's death- when Klaus finally stops shaking, and he and Nephthys can finally breathe without choking on their own tongues- when _Ben finally shows his ghostly face again_ \- he and Nephthys leave the mansion for good. 

 

 

* * *

 

 

Klaus' Daemon earns him a bit of a reputation on the streets, and he thinks, for once, _it's useful to have a death omen as a Daemon_. Particularly when he can use her in conjunction with his powers to make some money. After all, he doesn't want to whore himself out every night, so what's the harm in chatting with a few ghouls to make a bit of cash?

 

 

* * *

 

 

The first time he ODs, Klaus is terrified. Not of death, nor of what might wait for him in the dark. But of living. Because he's heard about what it means to Ghost- to lose your Daemon- and he _never wants to live like that_.

 

So, when he wakes in the back of an ambulance, sirens wailing around him and a thrill in his chest, he immediately jerks up, flailing for his Daemon.

 

But he needn't have worried, because _she's there_. She's flown down to perch on his knee, her beady whiskey-coloured eyes frowning in displeasure.

 

He takes another deep inhale from the oxygen mask, before pulling it off his face. "What?" he asks her, a whine threading itself into his voice.

 

"I told you it was too much," she tells him in a singsong voice.

 

Klaus rolls his eyes. "You're as bad as Ben."

 

**Author's Note:**

> In case it wasn't clear, here's everyone's Daemons:  
> Luther - Hercules beetle - Ayla (meaning moonlight)  
> Diego - red fox - Adriana/Addie (meaning dark one)  
> Allison - margay - Melos/Mel (meaning song)  
> Klaus - New Caledonian crow - Nephthys/Nephty (the Egyptian goddess of death)  
> Five - not mentioned - Echo (as in the letter 'E')  
> Ben - Russian blue cat - Seiko/Koko (meaning force, truth)  
> Vanya - mockingbird - Demyan/Myan (meaning 'to tame')
> 
> I didn't put what Five Settled as into this fic purely because that was just how it worked out, but fear not, he returns in the sequels, two (2) of which are now up. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading, and please don't hesitate to drop me a comment/kudos/whatever if my fic be worthy :)


End file.
